Fantasy Zone Retrospective

While none of them were ever million sellers, and the series has been dormant for well over a decade, few games embody the spirit of Sega as well as Fantasy Zone. With its imaginative world, surreal charm, and unmistakable sense of style, it was once one of Sega's flagship series, and its puny protagonist, Opa-Opa, was once even considered the company's mascot. His star burned bright, but as his games only moved backwards in gameplay and technology, he lost his place in the gaming world. He may be gone from our lives, but make no mistake: Opa-Opa will not soon be forgotten.

Welcome to the Fantasy Zone

Space Harrier first welcomed us to the Fantasy Zone in 1985, but its dangerous world of dragons and robots didn't bear much resemblance to the whimsical land of the shooter that would bear its name. Fantasy Zone premiered in March of 1986 as one of the first games for Sega's ambitious new arcade hardware, the System 16. The new general purpose powerhouse board became Sega's lead arcade platform, capable of pushing over a hundred on-screen sprites and thousands of colors, far outpacing the Genesis console, still years away.

The title arrived less than a year after Gradius, when the side-scrolling shooter genre was still in its formative years. Many of the conventions we take for granted had yet to be cemented, and Fantasy Zone's approach was a bit different than what we now know shooters to be. Like Defender and Choplifter, players could travel freely in both directions. Clearing all ten generators on a stage will bring on the boss. The free-form structure meant that Fantasy Zone wasn't as much of a game of patterns as Gradius or Salamander. The soundtrack also became a signature. Composed by Hiroshi Miyauchi, the simple, bubbly melodies remain some of arcade gaming's most infectious.

But it was the psychedelic world that really made the game stand out. Along with Space Harrier and Alex Kidd: The Lost Stars, it represented Sega's short-lived fascination with the surreal. The colorful and bizarre landscapes and enemies could only be matched by the budding star that was its protagonist. Opa-opa might have appeared to be a winged ship at first, but he was a living being with hopes, dreams, and even a family. When he had to best his own father at the end of the game, you actually felt bad for the little… thing.

The power-up system also turned a few heads. Destroying enemies dropped coins of varying amounts that added up to cash, separate from the score. Opa-Opa could visit shops and purchase upgrades to his speed, or various primary and secondary weapons. This helped to add a layer of strategy and planning to the game, especially early on when the budget is tight.


The title was an instant hit in Japanese arcades, earning a reputation for ruthless intensity, especially after looping the game. The number of bullets zooming around on screen would make even today's veterans flinch, and success demanded strategy as well as reflexes. The main character, strange though he was, even spawned imitators, most notably Konami's Twinbee, another living ship in a surreal shmup. Sega even went as far as to call Opa-Opa their mascot; a title that went largely ignored once Alex Kidd stepped up to take on Mario. In the West, Fantasy Zone never achieved the same kind of popularity, but the home front would offer new opportunities.

Console Wars

With arcade success, Fantasy Zone was a sure bet for the home market. Sega had just launched a new console, the Mark III (Sega Master System in the West), and Fantasy Zone seemed like a prime candidate to help move systems. Of course, with Sega less than firmly rooted in the console market, they were happy to license the game to Sunsoft to port to the Nintendo Famicom, as well.

Not everything from the cutting edge arcade game could be crammed onto 8-bit hardware and a one megabit cartridge, of course. The Sega Master System conversion took quite a few liberties with the source material, exchanging bosses when needed, and axing plenty of animation. Despite the cuts, it proved to be a flagship game for Sega's new console, earning new fans that weren't even familiar with the arcade version. That same year, Pony Canyon created a scaled down MSX port loosely based on the SMS version.


Despite the weaker specs of Nintendo's hardware, Sunsoft's conversion was more than impressive, arguably besting even Sega's home version. While the color palette took a major hit, and the sprites were scaled down a bit, it managed to replicate the subtle vertical panning, animation, and hectic firing patterns of the arcade. The quality port wouldn't go unnoticed by Sega, and Sunsoft would go on to become a stepparent to the series.

Unfortunately, North American NES owners weren't so lucky. Not only would they have to wait until 1989 for Sega's shooter, but the rights were sold to Tengen, who created a new, markedly inferior port. While it still managed to scroll four ways, the enemy patterns were stiff and choppy and sprites flickered and jerked.

Behind Sunsoft and Sega's ports, NEC released a quality version for the TurboGrafx that packed in most of the charm and gameplay of the original with slightly neutered difficulty. The Sharp X68000, as usual, was blessed with the best port of the time; nearly arcade perfect, thanks to the similar hardware, with an added secret level with enemies from Space Harrier and an optional arranged soundtrack.